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Determination of the contents of amino-acid and monoamine neurotransmitters in fetal brains from a fluorosis-endemic area.Abstract
The contents of five types of amino-acid neurotransmitters and three types of monoamine neurotransmitters in the brains of fetuses aborted through induced labor in a chronic fluorosis-endemic area were determined. Findings revealed that the content of the excitatory amino acid, aspartic acid, was significantly lower than in the fetuses from the non-endemic area whereas the content of the inhibitory amino acid, taurine, was significantly higher; the content of the major spinal cord-inhibitory glycine was significantly reduced. Among the monoamine neurotransmitters, the content of norepinephrine was significantly reduced; the contents of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the frontal and the occipital lobes were elevated and the content of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the parietal lobe (precentral and postcentral gyri) was reduced.